Safety hook



My 30, 1929. A'Q'BANNON Re; 17,390

SAFETY HOOK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. 12, 1925 I Zl wuantocWA 05 i6 July 30,1929. Q R 17,390

SAFETY HOOK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Dec. 12, 1925 jmmtw WA. 03mmReissued July 30, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER A. OBANNON, OF TULSA, OKLAHOMA, ASSIGNOR TO WALTER A. OBANNOINCOMPANY, OF TULSA, OKLAHOMA.

SAFETY HOOK.

Original No. 1,582,345, dated April 27, 1926', Serial No. 75,051, filedDecember 12, 1925. Application for reissue filed March so, 1929.

The present invention relates to the art of appliances used inconjunction with well works, and is conventionally known as a safetyhook.

The common form of'such a device consists of an open hook generally ofthe swivel type but owing to the frequency with which these hooks becomedisengaged from the object which is being handled thereby, it iscustomary to provide them with guard latches which extend across thethroat of the hook opening.

It is to this form of device that the present invention relates, itsobject being to provide such an appliance with manually operable meanswhereby the opening of the hook or latch will take place as an incidentto the pressure of the operators hand inthe hookoil movement.

It is of prime importance in these devices that projecting parts beeliminated as far as possible to prevent the accidental unlocking of thehook incident to its engagement with'the rigging, and therefore it hasbeen r my aim to dispose the op'eratingmeans for the hook latch in ainanner which will preclude catching any object with which it might comein contact.

It is further an important characteristic of my safety hook that in formor shape. it is not unduly large at that portion which is grasped by theoperators .hand, thereby greatly facilitating the operations of hookingand unhooking, this phaseof the apparatus influencing the arrangementand structure of the parts forming the latch mechanism.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will behereinafter set forth and the novel features thereof defined by theappended claims.

In the drawing;

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a safety'hook constructed in accordancewith my invention, partly broken away to show more clearly the detailsof construction and arrangement of the latch mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation with the swivel and bearing omitted;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional View on the line 3-3of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Serial No. 351,334.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the lower end of a modified form of latchlever;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view showing the interlocking slot in the latchwith which the extremity of the latch lever coacts;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a modified form of safety hook, the bodyof the hook being broken away to disclose the latch and operating levermounted thereon;

Fig. 8 is a front, elevation of the hook device shown in Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a detail viewof the locking detent and operating levertherefor, taken from the side opposite that shown in Fig. 7.

Like character of reference designate corresponding parts throughout theseveral figures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the body portion of the hookwhich at its top is formed with the threaded stud 2 to receive theswivel bail 3 secured thereon by the nut 4. A roller bearing 5 isemployed in conjunction with this swivel mounting.

The latch mechanism which forms the special feature of this invention ismounted in the shank portion of the hook above the opening of the sameand for this purpose the material of the hook body is channeled out asindicated at 6 to receive the several parts. lVithin the lower enlargedportion of this channel formed in the offset 7 of the body is pivotallymountedthe latch member or guard 8, which depends vertically from thepivot 9 across the entrance to the hook and in abutting relation to thewall 10 which prevents ontward movement of the latch, thereby resistingany inclination of the load to jump'out.

This latch. is designed to be retired into its receiving recess or seat,the enlarged portion of the channel 6 above referred to, by' the lever11 which is pivotally connected at 12 adjacent the top-of the hook, thelower end having an interlocking shiftable connection with the latch 8'.The particular form of this connection may differ. In Fig. 1 the latchlever 11 is provided with a lateral extension 12 which extends into aslot 8 in the latch member. The connection is a slidable one because ofthe swinging movement which itis necessary to impart to the latch member8. The construction may be modified as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 by formingan undercut groove 8" in the rear face of the latch member and withinthis the opposite extensions 11" of the latch lever are free to ride inthe operation of the latch.

To maintain the latch normally in operati ve or closed position shown infull lines in Fig. 1, a spring 13 is mounted in rear of the lever 11which presses the latch against the wall 10.

It will be clear that in the operation of this hook, the operator needsonly to move it into engagement with the object to be handled, the latch8 yielding readily to pressure thereagainst and allowing the object topass into the hook opening. When the unhooking operation is to beeflect'ed the operators hand about the neck or shank portion of theyhook and. in drawing the same toward him to cause' the disengagement heexerts pressure against the front of the hook and the shank portion ofthe latch lever 11 which projects slightly from the surface of the hookbody. This causes the latch member 8 to completely retire into its seatin the ofl'set 7, leaving the hook opening completely free andunobstructed. It will be apparent that this unlatching movement isautomatically produced, so to speak, in the natural unhooking of thesafety device from the object which it carries.

Referring to Figs. 7, 8 and 9 which show a modified form of myinvention, the'detent or latch 8 is provided with the curved slot 8 ofslightly greater width at the top 8 than the bottom, and provided on onewall with a raised portion in the form of a lug or cam 8 The lateralextension 12 of the release lever 11 is slidably interlocked in the slot8. The lever 11 is also provided with a shoulder 11 adapted to engagethe shoulder 8 of the detent 8 and retain or lock the detent againstinward movement.

The widened portion 8 of the slot is provided in order that theactuating lever 11 may be permitted to move inwardly sufficiently todisengage the shoulder 11 on the lever 11 and the shoulder 8 on thedetent and unlock said detent. This initial movement may be termed theunlocking movement and is shownin the intermediate dotted line positionof Fig. 9. Upon further inward movement of the lever 11, in thedirection of the small arrow in Fig. 9, the extension 12 Will engage theside of the slot 8 moving the detent 8 inwardly from across the throat 1of the hook 1. This movementfafte'r the initial unlocking movement isthe same as previously described in the descriptions of my preferredform. After the lever 11 has been pressed in, causing the detent to bewithdrawn and the operator releases the said lever, the spring 13 movesthe same outwardly, causing the detent 8 to be moved across the opening1 of the hook. It is essential that the detent be moved to normal closedposition before the lever 11 moves to final locking position.

To accomplish this function the cam or projection 8 on the wall of theslot 8 is so positioned that the lever 11 will move or cam the detent 8completely to closed position before the lateral extension 12 can passinto the wider end 8 of the slot 8 and permit the shoulders 8 and 11 toengage, locking the detent positively against accidental movement.

It Will becomprehended readily by the construction as disclosed in thismodification that while the operator may readily and easily open thehook with one hand, upon release of the latch lever 11 the detent 8 willnot only be returned to normal position closing the mouth 1 of the hook1, but will positively lock the detent 8 in this position, thereby preventing the hook from accidentally catching on any object, while atthe same time obviating any possibility of accidentally disengaging theload.

In view of the use of a relatively long latch lever 11 a considerabledegree of swinging movement is capable of being imparted to the latchmember 8 by a very slight movement of said latch lever and hence it isnecessary for this lever to project from the body of the hook veryslightly. The strength of the hook is not materially weakened by thearrangement of this simple form of latch mechanism in the same, thisbeing providedagainst in many of the safety hooks by materially en-.larging the body of the hook to accommodate the latch mechanisms. Suchenlargement of the-hook body makes it difficult for the operator tograsp the hook comfortably and frequently this leads to accident becausethese bodies are relatively heavy under ordinary conditions.

It will be apparent that the latch mechanism which forms the subjectmatter of this invention is of a very simple character and may becheaply manufactured, and I desire it to be underst0( i thatmodifications in the form and arran 'gement thereof may be made withoutdepa .ng from the spirit of the invention and within the scope of theclaims hereto appended. Such modification of the locking arrangement mayconsist of the omission of the shoulders 8 and 11, under whichconditions the parts would still remain in a locking position by virtueof the cooperation of the projection 12 with the cam 8 as shownparticularly in Figs. 7 and 9.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A safety device of the class described comprising a hook body, alatch member suspended across the entrance of the hook, and actuatingmeans pivotally mounted at one end above the latch in the shank portionof the hook to swing in the direction of hooking off for displacing thelatch from across the hook entrance and operatively engaging the latchat its other end, said actuating means being operable in the directionof and as an incident to the application of pressure to the hook forhooking off movement of the same.

2. A safety device of the class described comprising a hook body, alatch member extending across the entrance of the hook body, andseparate actuating means connected at one end to the latch member andpivotally mounted at the other end in the hook body above the latchconnection aforesaid to swing in a direction rearwardly of the hookincident to the application of pressure to the hook for hooking oifmovement of the same.

3. A safety device of the class described comprising a hook body, alatch member extending across the entrance of the hook body, and anactuating member pivotally mounted at one end in the hook body andhaving a connection at its other'end to the latch member capable oflocking the latch against movement from pressure against the latch whenin closed position, said latch member being free to open uponapplication of pressure to the actuating member.

4. A safety device of the class described comprising a hook body, alatch member mounted above the opening of the hook so as to normallydepend across said opening, means limiting the movement of the latchmember in one direction, and a pivoted lever extending along the shankof the hook Where grasped ,by the operator normally locking the latchmember and having a shiftable connection With said latch member torelease thesame upon initial movementof the lever, said lever beingoperable upon further movement to open the latch.

5. A safety device of the class described comprising a hook body havinga channel EX- tending longitudinally of the same and terminating in anenlarged recess, a latch member pivotallymounted on the hook body toextend acrossthe opening of the hook, lever means having shiftableconnection with the latch memberat one end and pivotally mounted on thehook member in the channel aforesaid,

said latch lever being operable to shift the latch member completelyinto the enlarged recess aforesaid.

6. A safety device of the class described comprising a hook body, alatch member piv otally mounted above the opening of the hook so as tonormally extend across said opening, an actuating member mounted on thebody and having connection with said latch member for swinging the samefrom the position aforesaid into inoperative position, and projectingmeans on the body extending over the hook and constituting a guard forthe hook and latch.

7. A safety device of the class described, comprising a hook body, alatch member extending across the entrance of the hook, and pivotallymounted actuating means for operating the latch member, said actuatingmeans constituting a locking means for the latch member.

8. A safety hook comprising a hook body, a detent adapted to close theentrance to the hook body, locking means for holding the detent acrossthe hook opening, and pivoted actuating means for releasing the lockingmeans and moving the detent out of the openmg.

9. A safety hook comprising a hook body, a latch member pivotallymounted across the opening of the hook so as to normally close saidopening, an actuating member pivoted at one end to the hook body andhavinginterlocking engagement with the-latch member for swinging thelatch member, and locking means for the latch member operated incidentto movement of the actuating member.

10. A safety device of the class described comprising a hook body, alatch member pivotally mounted above the opening of the hook so as tonormally depend across said opening, means limiting the movement of thelatch member in one direction, a lever extending along the shank of thehook Where grasped by the operator having shiftable connection with thelatch at one end and pivotal connection with the hook at the other end,said lever being operable to swing the latch from said normal positioninto the hook body, and inter locking means between the latch member andthe lever for normally locking the latch member from movement. saidmeans being moved into inoperative position incident to the movement ofthe lever.

11. A safety device of the class described comprising a hook body havinga channel extending longitudinally of the same and terminating in an.enlarged recess, a latch member pivotally mounted on thehook body toextend across the opening of the hook, lever means having shiftableconnection. with the latch member at one end and pivotally mounted onthe hook member in the channel aforesaid said latch lever being operableto shift the latch member completely into the enlarged recess aforesaid,and locking means for the latch member operable incident to initiallatch shifting movement of the lever to unlock said latch member.

In testimony whereof I atiix my signature.

VALTER A. OBANNON.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Reissue Patent No. 17,390. Granted July 30, 1929, to

It is hereby certified that the'name of the patentee in the abovenumbered patent is erroneously written and printed as "Walter A.O'Baunon", whereas said name should have been written and printed as"Walter O'Bannon"; and that the said Letters Patent should be read withthis correction therein that the same may conform to the record of thecase in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 20th day of August. A. D. 1929.

M. J. Moore, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

